The Back-Up Plan
by luce88
Summary: The savior got away. The curse would be broken when she was 28 and Snow would live happily ever after with James and Emma. But Regina had a back-up plan. She gave James a family that didn't include Snow. Can David's 15 year old son with Kathryn keep him away from Mary Margaret? AU but follows the storyline in the show closely. Focus will be on the Charming family
1. Chapter 1

**The primary characters in this story will be Mary Margaret/Snow White, David/James, Ryan, Emma, and Henry. The other characters from the show will be in this story, too, and I will introduce some new characters, but the focus will be on the Charming family both before the curse is broken and after. I have a few chapters written and will continue if you like it. Please let me know what you think. **

**Chapter One: Ryan James Nolan**

**Fairy Tale Land**

"_The child?" Regina said expectantly. _

_Regina sounded almost bored. Snow White was bent over her unconscious husband, pleading with him to come back to her. He wouldn't. And when he did, she wouldn't remember she knew him. Snow might as well give up now. Regina was going to win. There was no question in her mind. The only thing that could save Snow now was the newborn baby…the savior who, according to Rumplestiltskin, was going to save everyone when she was twenty-eight. Too bad for Snow the princess wouldn't make it to her twenty-eighth birthday. Not if Regina could help it. _

"_Gone," was the guard's reply. "It was in the wardrobe and then it was gone. It's nowhere to be found."_

"_Where is she?" Regina demanded._

_Regina was anxious for the first time since she set foot in the castle. Not that you could tell by looking at her. She had long ago learned to hide her emotions. Emotions were weakness. __It was a lesson she'd learned the hard way from her mother. She had been the picture of a blushing bride when she was dying inside. She had played the role of loving mother to a stepdaughter that she despised. Now, it was easy to hide the bubbling anxiety and maintain the façade of calm confidence._

_Snow lifted her chin. "She got away. You're going to lose. I know that now. Good will always win."_

_Snow's confidence wasn't the calm confidence that Regina possessed. It was more of a true belief that good would always triumph over evil. She was passionate in her belief. And then there was a sense of pride that her daughter would save them from whatever Regina had in store for them. Snow was smug. _

"_We'll see about that," Regina said._

_Regina would have twenty-eight years to figure out what to do. Meanwhile Snow White wouldn't even know her daughter, the savior, when she saw her. Regina had won this battle even if she'd lost the savior._

_As a twister tore through the room, the ceiling collapsed and the windows shattered._

"_Where are we going?" Snow asked._

_Regina smirked. "Somewhere horrible. Absolutely horrible. A place where the only happy ending will be mine."_

_Though she would never let Snow see, Regina was worried. The savior would break the curse in twenty-eight years and then there would be nothing to stop Snow and James from living happily ever after. She couldn't let that happen. If Regina couldn't have Daniel, Snow couldn't have James. Regina needed a back-up plan. _

_Looking at the man lying unconscious on the floor, Regina knew James would do anything for his family. He would have died trying to protect his daughter. So, she would give him a family-a family that did not include Snow. Regina poured all her magic into one last spell._

"_He will have a family. He will be married to Princess Abigail and they will have a son. When the savior returns, she will be twenty-eight. She won't need him anymore. His son will. His son will be a boy who needs his father," Regina muttered._

_Regina couldn't tell if the spell worked or not. She was exhausted from the effort. She didn't have the time or the energy to try again. Dark smoke filled the room. The room faded away._

**Storybrooke, Maine**

"I don't know. M?" Mary Margaret guessed.

"Mmhmm. Two of them. Get it yet?" David wrote two Ms in the spaces he'd left for them and then looked up from the notebook. His blue eyes glittered with amusement.

Mary Margaret studied the sheet in the notebook.

_M_ __ _ _ __M __e_ _t_

"Yes. And I'm completely mortified. I almost hanged on my own name," Mary Margaret realized with a glance at the stick figure that David had been adding to every time she guessed wrong.

"Don't worry. I would never let you hang. I would've added toes, a hat, maybe a horse," David told her with an easy grin.

"Is this a game you played a lot, uh, before?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I don't know," David answered.

David didn't remember anything. Not one thing. He didn't know who he was, what he did, where he was from. He had a wife that he didn't remember. He hadn't even known his own name. His name felt unfamiliar. It wasn't natural for him to answer to it.

Mary Margaret was the first person he knew and the only person he felt like he really knew. Her voice sounded familiar, comforting.

If it had been anyone else asking questions about his past, it would've made David uncomfortable. He knew they wanted him to remember, but he couldn't. It was different with Mary Margaret. He felt like he could talk to her. No pressure. Just talk.

"It'll come back. They're sending you home in a week. They have to think you're progressing, don't they?" Mary Margaret tried to reassure him while trying not to think about what it would mean for her, for them when he remembered.

"Physically," David said.

"Well, you're making new memories just fine," Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Maybe I'll like these better," David said.

"Okay, play again?" Mary Margaret suggested with a small smile.

Before David could agree, Kathryn walked into the room with a box. She smiled at them. "Can I guess, too?"

Mary Margaret didn't know why she was surprised to see Kathryn Nolan. She shouldn't be. Kathryn _was_ David's wife. It was just that it was still weird to her that he had a wife. Mary Margaret felt a wave of guilt. However weird it was to her, Kathryn was his wife and Kathryn had been nothing but nice to her. And that just made her feel even worse.

"Oh, Mrs. Nolan, I…uh…it's noon already. I didn't realize. I should go," Mary Margaret said, an apologetic note in her voice.

"Good day, Miss Blanchard," Kathryn said as Mary Margaret passed her on her way out. Kathryn sat down in the chair Mary Margaret vacated and put the box down on the floor. There were several pictures in the box. "Honey, I brought some pictures. Maybe it'll jog something. Our dog, Ajax. Remember?"

David glanced at the picture of a golden retriever. He didn't remember, but he could see the hope written all over Kathryn's face as she looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah…Ajax," David lied.

Kathryn hesitated for a second. She had been debating with herself whether she should show him the pictures of Ryan or not. She wanted to. She wanted him to remember them…her and Ryan. She wanted her husband back. She just didn't want to overwhelm him. Regina and Dr. Whale seemed to think it would be good for him. And, if he remembered the dog, he had to remember their son. Didn't he? Kathryn took a deep breath and pulled the next picture out of the box. "And this is our son."

Their son? He had a son. How could he not remember his own son? What kind of a father was he?

"I…we have a son?" David said, completely shocked.

Kathryn nodded. "Ryan."

"Ryan," David repeated the name. He liked the name, but it didn't mean anything to him.

Kathryn smiled, encouraged. "Ryan James Nolan."

_James_. Now _that_ name sounded familiar. It sounded right.

"I like that," David said thoughtfully.

"You should. You picked it," Kathryn told him.

David reached out slowly to take the picture. When Kathryn told him they had a son, he imagined a little boy in his head. The boy in the picture looked to be about the same age as Henry, maybe a year or two older. It was a school picture. The boy was wearing a school uniform. A white polo shirt and a navy sweater with the school crest on it. The boy had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. David stared at the picture, trying to remember. He was trying so hard and nothing.

"He looks like you," Kathryn pointed out.

"How old is he?" David asked.

"That picture was taken around the time you left. He's fifteen now," Kathryn answered.

David didn't remember anything from the first fourteen years of his son's life. He didn't remember his first word, first steps, first day of school. He looked down, feeling guilty for something that wasn't his fault, something that he had no control over.

Kathryn looked down, obviously disappointed. "You don't remember. I thought you would. You were so happy when you found out I was pregnant. You went out and bought this little blue and white striped baseball jersey. You were so sure it would be a boy."

"I was right," David said.

"Sometimes…" Kathryn hesitated, shook her head. "I was actually jealous of how much time you two spent together. You were his hero."

David looked up, at a point over Kathryn's shoulder. He wasn't a bad father, then. He sure felt like one now.

"Where is he?" David asked. "I want to see him."

"You can't," Kathryn said.

David frowned. Maybe his son didn't want to see him.

"He's not here," Kathryn explained. "He's…he's in Boston."

"Our son is in Boston?" David said slowly, not really understanding why their son would be in Boston if they were there.

"With Scott, my, uh, ex-boyfriend," Kathryn said quietly, nervous about how David would react.

A few years ago David left. She thought he left town for good. It had been years since she'd seen him or heard from him. She shouldn't feel guilty for moving on, but, still, David was her husband.

David wasn't angry. He wasn't even jealous. He felt nothing when he thought about his wife with another man. But he still didn't understand why their son was in Boston with her ex-boyfriend. Shouldn't their son be with them?

David cocked an eyebrow. "I don't understand. Our son is with your ex-boyfriend?" David said flatly with no emotion in his voice.

"He, um, had a hard time when you left. He was so angry all the time. He started getting in trouble. Maybe it was my fault. I felt like he had a right to be angry. I knew it was my fault you left. At first it was little things like not doing his homework and I didn't want to come down too hard on him, but then he started getting in fights. When he got suspended, I told him he was grounded. He left. I couldn't stop him. He's taller than me. I told him if he walked out that door, not to come back," Kathryn said guiltily.

Anger flared for a brief moment in David's blue eyes. "You what?"

Kathryn sighed. "I didn't mean it. I was angry. A few hours later Scott called me to let me know that Ryan showed up in Boston asking if he could stay with him. I thought maybe it was what he needed. I didn't know what to do with him anymore and Ryan didn't get in trouble when Scott was living with us."

"Call him. I want our son here, with us," David said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! This is a long chapter. I'm introducing Ryan and would love to hear what you think of him.**

**Chapter Two: Homecoming**

"Hey!" David smiled when he saw Mary Margaret. "Where you going?"

"Home. I'm done for the day." Mary Margaret frowned. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

David couldn't rest if he tried. His son was on a bus. He would be there soon. The thought of seeing Ryan made David anxious but also excited. He couldn't sit. He needed to get up and burn off some of the nervous energy.

"Ah, actually Dr. Whale wants me to start physical therapy. I'm supposed to walk thirty minutes a day on a treadmill or outside with an escort, but they were kind of short on personnel because of that thing that happened at the mine," David told her.

"Oh," Mary Margaret said.

Ordinarily Mary Margaret would have volunteered to walk with him, but now all she said was _oh_.

"So maybe if there was a volunteer willing to help?" David dropped a not-so-subtle hint, looking at Mary Margaret pointedly.

Mary Margaret looked torn. She knew it wasn't a good idea to spend time with David. She wouldn't be happy with just being his friend. She wanted more than that. She wanted him and she couldn't have him. He had a wife and kid. Seeing the hope in his eyes, she nodded slowly, unable to say no to him.

As they walked outside by the water, David looked around, taking in the scenery. He felt like he should know this place, but he didn't recognize it. He was tired and confused. It was giving him a headache.

"I'm trying to remember this place. It's like…it's like I woke up in some strange land," David said.

"Is there anything coming back? What about when you're with her?" Mary Margaret asked.

David shook his head.

"You remembered your dog," Mary Margaret pointed out.

She realized too late that she'd just admitted to listening outside his room and looked down, blushing. She had listened to their conversation, wishing that she had been the one in there with David. And then, when she heard Kathryn's little announcement that she and David had a son, Mary Margaret's guilt had risen to a whole new level. The mixture of cold shock, painful jealousy, and heavy guilt had twisted uncomfortably in her gut, tearing her up inside. She couldn't listen to any more, so she'd left quickly.

"Yeah, I lied," David admitted sheepishly.

Mary Margaret seemed surprised. "You did?"

"She's so loving and I didn't want to disappoint her," David explained. "But none of it feels right. You know? A dog named Ajax. Who would name their dog that? None of it makes sense. None of it. None of it feels real."

"That sounds lonely," Mary Margaret said sympathetically.

It was nice to have someone sympathize. No disappointment. Just sympathy. It was nice just to be with Mary Margaret. She was always able to make him feel better.

"Actually one thing does feel real." David stopped walking and turned to face Mary Margaret, looking directly into her green eyes. "You."

Mary Margaret was taken aback. "What?"

"I know it's crazy, but I swear you're the only thing in this whole place that feels…that feels right," David tried to explain.

"What about your son?" Mary Margaret said harshly.

David sighed and looked down. "Ah…I don't remember him either. I'm trying to remember him, but nothing. How do you forget your own son?" He shook his head and then looked up suddenly as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, he would've been in your class a few years ago. Do you remember him?"

Mary Margaret didn't remember Ryan. Even if she had remembered, it would have irritated her that David was asking _her_ about his son. "You're asking _me_ about your son? You should ask your wife."

Kathryn approached them, catching the end of their conversation. "Ask me what?"

"Kathryn!" David said, surprised.

Mary Margaret felt the all-too-familiar guilt, like they'd been doing more than talking. They hadn't, but she had wanted to.

"I know it's outside of visiting hours, but I needed to see you. I made some cranberry muffins. They used to be your favorite," Kathryn said, unsure if they were still his favorite.

"Well, I should leave you two," Mary Margaret said, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Wait, Mary Margaret!" David called after her. "See you tomorrow?"

There was a hint of desperation in his voice. He didn't want her to leave. He didn't know when he'd see her again.

Mary Margaret spared a glance at Kathryn and then nodded. What could she say? She didn't feel like she could say no. And deep down she didn't want to. She wanted to see David. Even when he was irritating her, she still wanted to see him. She didn't know what she was going to do about that.

Across town, Regina watched as a teenaged boy stepped off the bus. The boy was wearing a denim jacket over a plain white t-shirt and jeans. He had to be David's son. He looked just like David. There were a few differences. David's hair always looked perfect and the boy's was a little unruly. The boy was skinnier than David. But, otherwise, he looked like James had when he was younger.

"Ryan?" Regina called.

Ryan turned to face Regina and frowned, confused. He didn't know her.

"I'm Regina Mills. I'm a friend of your mom's. I thought her time would be better spent at the hospital, so I volunteered to pick you up," Regina explained. She didn't mention that the only time Mary Margaret seemed to stay away from David was when Kathryn was there. She also didn't mention that she wanted to talk to Ryan.

Ryan nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

Ryan put his suitcase in the trunk of her car and took his seat in the passenger seat. Regina glanced over at him. There was a dark, haunted quality in his blue eyes. Whatever demons were haunting him, Regina couldn't let them get in the way of her plan.

"How was your trip?" Regina said, starting small with an easy question to get him talking.

"Fine," Ryan mumbled.

Regina turned the key in the ignition and put the car in drive. "You must be worried about your dad. He's going to be fine. They're releasing him tomorrow."

Ryan tried to smile, but it was a weak smile that was obviously fake. He knew he should be happy that his dad was okay, but he didn't know what he felt. All this time he thought his dad just left him and really his dad had been in a coma. Everything he'd believed was wrong. And now, after years of being hurt and angry, he had his dad back and he didn't know how to feel, what to do.

When she cast the spell that created the boy, Regina had wanted a boy who needed his father. The boy sitting next to her couldn't even manage a genuine smile when he heard that his father would be okay. The spell hadn't worked. Not the way she wanted it to anyway.

"I know your parents had some problems and you thought your dad left, but he didn't. He would have been there for you had it not been for his condition. He was in a coma, Ryan," Regina said.

"Maybe he was in a coma, but he wasn't in a coma when he left," Ryan said. "He left. He walked out that door and he didn't look back. And my mom? She told him to leave. Now, maybe he would've come back. Maybe he wouldn't have. I guess we'll never know now, will we?"

The bitter anger was clear in Ryan's voice. Arguing with him would only make him defensive and Regina needed him on her side. So, she agreed with him.

"No," Regina agreed, "no, I suppose the only way to know for sure is if he remembers."

Ryan glanced over at her. "Does he remember anything?"

"I'm afraid not," Regina said, feigning sympathy. "However Dr. Whale seems to think that seeing you will be good for him. Your mom said that the two of you used to spend a lot of time together. He taught you how to play baseball. He helped you with your homework. You played videogames together. Anything could bring his memory back."

"So I should play MarioKart with him?" Ryan said slowly.

Regina chuckled. "It certainly couldn't hurt. The important thing is that he's with family."

Ryan frowned. "Who else would he be with?"

"Well, there's a woman who volunteers at the hospital that has taken quite a shine to him," Regina said. "You would know her. She's a teacher. Miss Blanchard."

"Yeah, I'm not really into school." Ryan looked out the window.

Regina smiled. "Neither is my son."

Ryan looked surprised. "You have a son?"

Regina nodded. "Henry. He's ten."

Ryan went back to looking out the window. A few minutes later Regina turned into the hospital parking lot and found a parking space near the entrance. She showed Ryan where David's room was and watched the family reunion from outside.

"Ry!" Kathryn got up to give her son a hug. His arms stayed by his sides. He wasn't exactly resisting, but he also wasn't returning the hug.

"Hi, mom." Ryan smiled halfheartedly, but it faded quickly. He shifted his gaze to David.

For a moment, Ryan and David stared at each other. David hadn't changed much. His blue eyes looked at Ryan differently though. They weren't cold exactly, but they weren't warm either. There was no recognition in them.

"Dad?" Ryan said. It came out as a question.

David knew Ryan was his son and he'd seen pictures, but it was still weird for him to see a boy who looked eerily like him. He thought maybe he'd remember his son when he saw him. He'd hoped he would. But, now, looking at the boy, he was a virtual stranger. The boy spoke, called him _dad_. It took David a second to respond.

"Yeah, I guess," David said.

Kathryn looked at David sadly. "You don't remember."

"I'm sorry," David apologized.

"Are you sorry you don't remember? Or are you sorry you left?" Ryan asked, before he could stop himself.

"Ryan!" Kathryn said in a disapproving tone.

Ryan sighed heavily. "I haven't even been here five minutes and you're already pissed off."

"Language," Kathryn warned. "And I'm not mad. I would just like it if we could all try to get along."

"I'm not that good an actor," Ryan muttered.

Ryan's words struck a chord with David. It felt like he was acting. Playing the role of Kathryn's husband, when he didn't remember her, didn't love her. Assuming responsibility for a teenager he didn't know. Yes, acting was a good way to describe it. It didn't feel real.

Kathryn opened her mouth to reprimand Ryan, but David stopped her.

"No, he's right," David said. He locked eyes with Ryan and gave him an answer. "Both."

Ryan nodded his head once, acknowledging the apology. He didn't know if he could forgive David. Not yet. But David could have said nothing. He didn't. And Ryan could at least respect that if nothing else.

"So you're okay? I mean, other than your memory?" Ryan asked. It wasn't much, but at least he cared.

David smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

There was a hint of relief in Ryan's eyes. "And you're coming home tomorrow?"

Home? David didn't think it would feel like home. He would probably feel like a guest. He'd be living with people he didn't know that just happened to be his wife and kid. He hesitated for a second and then nodded.

* * *

David stared at the house. It didn't look like him. In fact, he hated it. It was an old Victorian house. It was the kind of house he would have thought that a grandmother might live in. It wasn't a house he ever would have chosen for himself.

Kathryn glanced over at him. "You know, you had the same look on your face before we bought it, too. You couldn't see past the ugly windmill on the lawn and said you'd never buy an old lady house. Do you remember what made you change your mind?"

There it was again. She kept asking him if he remembered. He didn't. He felt like he should know this house, but it wasn't even vaguely familiar.

"Well, I see the windmill's gone," David noticed.

"Come on," Kathryn said, heading toward the porch. "Everyone's waiting."

David was caught off guard. He didn't know anyone. It was his first night home, but it didn't feel like home. He thought he would get settled. He wasn't prepared to walk into the entryway and find the whole town waiting for him.

Instead of answering him, Kathryn led him into the entrance and made introductions. He was looking to see if there was anyone he knew. He was looking for Mary Margaret. She was the only person he really felt like he knew. And it seemed like she was the only one who wasn't there. He did see her roommate though, and headed over to where she was talking with her son.

"Hey. You're the ones who saved me, right?" David said. He already knew the answer. What he really wanted to know was where the third member of his rescue party was.

Emma seemed uncomfortable being labeled his savior. "Oh, yeah, I guess."

"And, uh, you're also the only ones I know here," David said, a little disappointed that Mary Margaret wasn't with them. He didn't even really know them. He could put a name with a face for them, though, which is more than he could say for most of the people there.

"You can hide with us," Emma offered.

"Fantastic," David said.

A man came over with a tray of food. David stabbed a cocktail weenie with a toothpick and thanked him.

"So you ever use a sword?" Henry asked.

David wondered if he'd heard right. That was random.

"I'm sorry?" David said, puzzled. He shifted his gaze to Emma and asked what he'd been dying to ask since he joined them. "Emma, you live with Mary Margaret, right? You know if she's coming tonight?"

"No, she couldn't make it," Emma replied.

David's face fell. "Oh."

The only person he wanted to see wasn't even coming. David looked around. Ryan was standing several feet away, grinning at something that a black-haired teenaged girl had said to him. He didn't see Kathryn anywhere.

Ryan saw David heading to the door out of the corner of his eye and frowned.

"Uh, I'll be right back," Ryan told the girl.

He didn't wait for an answer. He hurried to meet his dad at the door. "Hey, where you going?"

David stopped in his tracks and sighed. "I don't know anyone here. I can't do this right now."

Ryan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So you're just gonna leave?"

David picked up on the hint of fear in Ryan's voice. Ryan was afraid he'd leave. Again. He didn't even remember leaving the first time. He didn't know how to explain it to Ryan. Something stopped him from promising that it wouldn't happen again.

"I'm not leaving. I'm just…going for a walk," David said.

"A walk?" Ryan repeated.

"Yeah," David replied.

"Have fun," Ryan said sarcastically, not really sure if he should believe David.

Ryan watched David leave. As he closed the door and turned back to the party, he saw his mom looking around.

"Ryan, have you seen dad?" Kathryn asked hopefully.

"No," Ryan lied. He didn't want her to feel the way he did right now, the fear rising in his chest, the uncertainty.

Outside, David walked through town. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know where anything was. He was waiting for something to look familiar.

David saw Mary Margaret trying to hang a bird feeder on a branch she couldn't reach and watched her with a smile on his face.

"Did you not get the invite?" David called.

Mary Margaret glanced at him. "David."

She was trying to stay away from him. She was trying to do the right thing. Why did he have to make it so hard?

David jumped over the fence separating them. He took the bird feeder from her and hung it for her.

"So I heard you resigned from the hospital. Was it me? 'Cause of what I told you about how I felt about you?" David asked.

Mary Margaret looked at him.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me it's one-sided," David said.

She couldn't. He knew she couldn't. He saw the way she looked at him when she didn't think he was looking. He could tell how guilty she felt every time she saw Kathryn.

"You're married. You have a son. It should be no-sided," Mary Margaret said.

"Should be doesn't matter," David said. "Whoever married Kathryn, it's not me. I didn't choose her. I'm choosing you. I know you feel it. I can tell."

He really wasn't making it easy.

"I know you think we have this connection, but maybe it's because I happen to be the person who saved your life. So why don't we leave it at that?" Mary Margaret went inside then, leaving him standing there.

Emma pulled her yellow VW Bug up as David walked away, looking sullen. She narrowed her eyes at him. She'd known exactly where he was going when he left the party. He'd left his party. Practically the whole town was back at his house to welcome him home. He'd walked off, leaving his kid standing there looking crushed. His wife was trying. Anyone could see that. And he just left so he could see Mary Margaret. _Jackass_.

Emma walked into the apartment. Mary Margaret was scrubbing the dishes vigorously.

"You might want to ease up, or that brillo pad's going to press charges," Emma said.

Mary Margaret stopped scrubbing. "Dishes were just piling up."

"This have anything to do with David stopping by?" Emma said knowingly. "I saw him sulking away as I pulled up."

Mary Margaret looked nervous. "We just…uh, he just…"

"Yeah, I know. You're both just. And you did the right thing," Emma told her.

"He made a pretty compelling case," Mary Margaret said.

"But he's still married," Emma said. "I know. I was just at the party."

Mary Margaret sighed. "What do I do?"

"You need to stop cleaning and have a drink." Emma grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "Here's the thing, I don't know a lot about relationships other than having many that failed. But, generally speaking, if you think something you want to do is wrong, it is. So you got to stay strong and he has to figure out his life." She held her glass up. "Cheers."

As they clinked glasses, David walked into his house. Ryan was sitting on the couch watching TV. The golden retriever…Ajax was sitting by Ryan and barked when he saw David.

"It's okay, Ajax. You came back." Ryan sounded surprised and wary.

"You didn't think I would," David said. It wasn't a question.

Ryan shook his head and went back to flipping through the channels. Ajax got up and went over to sniff David warily. The golden retriever let David pat him for a few seconds and then returned to his spot on the floor next to Ryan, who scratched the dog's ears absentmindedly.

"Where's Kathryn?" David asked.

Ryan noticed that David called his mom _Kathryn_. David normally would have said _mom_. "She's upstairs. You're different, you know."

"I know," David acknowledged. "I'm gonna get something to drink. You want anything?"

"Yeah, Coke?" Ryan said.

David opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of Coke for Ryan. Then, he studied the contents of the refrigerator. He didn't know what he liked. There was a jug of orange juice, a carton of milk, a bottle of blue Gatorade, several cans of soda, and a few cans of Budweiser. There were too many choices and he didn't know what to choose. He grabbed a second can of Coke and returned to the living room.

Ryan looked surprised when he saw that David was having Coke, too. "You don't drink soda."

"No?" David took a sip and winced. "That's too sweet."

Ryan laughed.

"Okay, so what do I like?" David asked.

"Beer," Ryan told him.

David frowned at the only beverage his son listed in a matter of fact tone. "Did I drink a lot?"

"Is a six-pack every night a lot?" Ryan said.

David looked up in surprise, his frown deepening.

Ryan kept a straight face for several seconds and then smirked. "You had a beer with dinner. Maybe two when you got _really_ crazy."

David looked at Ryan. "You were lying."

"You don't drink soda. Try a beer. You'll like it. I promise." There was a hint of amusement in his tone.

David looked at Ryan wearily. Ryan was able to keep a straight face, so David hesitantly got a can of beer from the refrigerator. He took a sip and sighed. It was good.

"You also like dancing and long walks on the beach," Ryan said conversationally.

"Were you always this annoying?" David said. He wasn't being serious.

Now that the topic of conversation wasn't David's leaving, David was actually enjoying his son. The teenager's dry sarcasm and light teasing reminded David a little of the way he was with Mary Margaret. He and his son had the same sense of humor. David _liked_ talking to Ryan. The conversation was natural. It didn't feel awkward or forced. It was easy to talk to Ryan even though he didn't remember his son. They had a certain chemistry.

Ryan put his hand over his heart. "That hurts."

Kathryn came down the stairs. She had changed into pajamas. She was wearing an oversized Boston College t-shirt and black yoga pants. She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and listened as Ryan teased David. She smiled, happy to see that David seemed to be warming up to one of them at least.

Kathryn cleared her throat to get their attention. "I'm going to bed." She focused her attention on David. "Do you…want to join me?"

"I think I'm gonna stay here and talk to Ryan some more," David replied.

"Okay." Kathryn walked over to give him a quick kiss. "Good night."

The kiss felt like an awkward first kiss. Kathryn was obviously nervous. David didn't feel anything. Nothing.

David could leave right now and he wouldn't miss Kathryn. And he would. Leave, that is, except…he would miss Ryan. He didn't have to think about it. He just knew it. He would miss his son. He didn't know until that moment that you could miss someone you hadn't even known for more than a day, though he supposed it was the same way he felt with Mary Margaret. After all, he hadn't known her very long either, and, when they weren't together, he felt like a piece of his heart was missing.

Unable to find anything good on TV, Ryan set the remote down on the coffee table and looked at David uncertainly. "So you, uh, want to play MarioKart?"

"MarioKart?" David repeated.

He didn't know what MarioKart was, but it gave him an excuse to spend more time with his son in the same relaxed manner in which they'd spent the last few minutes, so he accepted the white plastic Wii steering wheel Ryan handed him and listened as Ryan explained the controls to him.

The steering wheel felt foreign in David's hands. "Did we play this a lot before?"

"Yeah," Ryan replied.

Ryan chose Toad as his character and then waited while David looked at all the characters. He could have told David that he was always Luigi, but he wanted to see if David would choose Luigi without any help. Call it an experiment.

David felt Ryan's eyes on him. "What?"

"I didn't say anything," Ryan said.

David paused for a second on Peach. The pretty blonde princess reminded him of something, but what? It was so frustrating. He knew there was something about the princess, but he couldn't tell you what it was. It was like everything was fuzzy. He shook his head and moved on. When he chose Luigi, Ryan smirked.

"What?" David asked again.

"You were always Luigi," Ryan said. "And you always lose." He grinned.

"I let you win," David said.

"Whatever you say," Ryan said.

They started the game, with Ryan winning easy. Ryan thought it felt almost like before David left, when everything was easy between them. For a few minutes, he forgot that the man sitting next to him had left him, that his dad didn't remember him. It was normal…a father and son playing a videogame together. His father was still in there somewhere. David picking Luigi gave Ryan hope that his father would come back.


End file.
